Story of the Year - 2001: 9/11 attacks led to beefed up security at John Wayne Airport

John Wayne Airport has seen its annual security costs jump from about $4 million to $16 million since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, according to airport officials.

The attacks marked the beginning of a new era of increased security at the airport. It was shut down for two days by the Federal Aviation administration, which ordered all civil and commercial flights halted right after the hijacked planes flew into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon

John Wayne saw its security costs triple during the first year after 9-11, from about $4 million annually to $12 million.

In 2003, the airport spent $36 million on security alone. The increase in costs came from adding eight additional passenger screening lanes and a new, in-line baggage screening system. The airport also added a detail of three bomb-sniffing dogs to its security regimen.

Security costs have leveled out somewhat for John Wayne since 2003, but it still spends much more that it did prior to Sept. 11.

The airport now spends about $16 million on security each year.

Stepped up security means longer wait times and more restrictions on baggage for passengers.

“Prior to 9-11, airports were open to the general public to watch planes take off and arrived, and even go into the waiting areas,” Jenny Wedge said, a spokeswoman for John Wayne Airport.

Those days are gone forever.

Only ticketed passengers are now allowed passed security checkpoints. Travelers also may find themselves waiting in line at security checkpoints for longer.

Whereas John Wayne officials use to advise air travelers to arrive 30 to 45 minutes before their flight’s scheduled departure, passengers now are encouraged to come 90 minutes to two hours ahead of time.

The Transportation Security Authority, the federal agency that oversees security at John Wayne Airport, has tightened its security screening process since 2006, asking passengers to remove their shoes while passing through security checkpoints, and only permitting passengers to carry small amounts of liquids in their carry-on bags.

Those restrictions could continue to be in place for a long time, said Dwayne Baird, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Authority.

“It will depend on a variety of things,” Baird said. “We’re not going to speculate as to when those restrictions could be relaxed — a lot of what we do depends on what new technology that is developed.”